Prior to Monday’s series opener against the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reiterated Corey Seager was not affected at the plate by his sore right elbow. Roberts maintained the discomfort or pain only comes when the young shortstop uncorks a throw.
On Tuesday, Seager supported his manager’s sentiment. He finished 2-for-4 with a base hit, three-run home run and game-high four RBI in the Dodgers’ rout of the Padres. “I’ve been looking for some feelings,” Seager said following the win. “I felt a little better and had some results.”
Seager’s first hit was a two-out flare single to drive in a run in the third inning. His three-run homer in the seventh put the game out of reach. “It’s been a while since I found the barrel, so it was nice to have that again,” he said.
Seager, who once deemed his elbow to be 100 percent healthy, also denied it causing him any trouble when batting.
“I had never had a problem with it swinging,” he said. “It’s not easy to step back in and pick up where you left off. Take that much time off, you’ve just got to find it again. I’ve been searching pretty hard, got some feelings that I was looking for, and felt a lot better the last couple of days.”
To no surprise, Roberts on multiple occasions has downplayed any concern over Seager’s slump. He expressed confidence the 2016 National League Rookie of the Year winner would turn the corner, and the first indication may have come Tuesday.
“It can take one swing, one at-bat,” Roberts said. “Like we’ve talked about, he’s worked so hard in trying to get his swing right. He got some pitches and really looked like the Corey of old.”
Seager is batting .239/.285/.336 with two doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI, six walks and 25 strikeouts in 32 games (26 starts) since it became known during a mid-August series against the Detroit Tigers that he was dealing with a balky right elbow.
He hit a home run, his second in as many games, in Wednesday’s rout of the Padres. While there’s been recent improvement in his production, Seager previously intimated he will need to undergo minor surgery on his elbow during the offseason.
